Sunday 24 April 2016 11:15, UK
Patrick Davison sat down with Jermain Defoe to chat about the pressure on his shoulders at Sunderland, how he learnt from Ian Wright, and his relationships with Dick Advocaat and Sam Allardyce...
There's always a food bus at Sky Live games. A double-decker where everyone can sit and eat a few hours before kick-off.
It was on the bus ahead of Tuesday night's game between Newcastle and Manchester City that conversation, predictably, turned to who might stay up.
There was a variety of opinions, but only one player from any of the three teams fighting for their lives got a mention - Jermain Defoe.
When I met with the man himself at Sunderland's Academy of Light training ground a few days later, it was the first thing I put to him. I wanted to know what it's like, having the pressure of everyone expecting you to score, knowing you're the one team-mates rely on, that the club's future might very well rest in your hands.
He didn't look worried. Defoe loves being the main man.
"The goals now are more important than ever," says the striker who already has 141 of them in the Premier League.
"But it's good pressure. I want to be the one who makes the difference, who wins us games which are so big.
"I keep that in my mind when I'm out there on the pitch and I wait for my chance."
He's been like this for as long as he can remember. As a kid, endlessly watching and re-watching video tapes, just to see goals. Never happy, even when playing in the playground, if he didn't score.
"The boys used to laugh about it. 'JD's not going to pass it round the edge of the box'. But if I was a defender or midfielder, I'd want a striker like that.
"Even now, in training, if I score, Younes Kaboul and Sheasy [John O'Shea] say to me: 'Brilliant, keep adding to the tally, keep doing it'. They know what it means to me to score. Maybe I was born that way."
Defoe has worked hard to become a finisher. During those younger days, he would travel from his home in east London to the north of the capital to watch Arsenal - Sunderland's opponents on this weekend's Super Sunday.
He wasn't an Arsenal fan, he didn't even always follow the ball. He went to Highbury to watch Ian Wright.
"Back then people used to say 'Boring Arsenal', but they used to win 1-0 and Wrighty would score. To think now that I'm the one the lads look to for the goal is a great feeling."
A young Defoe didn't just watch football, he was, and is, a big boxing fan. Now, along with his team-mates, he's in a scrap of his own and drawing inspiration from those he watched in the ring.
"I remember being at my nan's and watching the Benn v Eubank fights. There was such a buzz, not just the fights but the whole build-up. I was always fascinated by the pressure and how they would deal with it.
"I'm also a massive Floyd Mayweather fan. Watching him before some of the biggest fights ever and he's always composed and relaxed. It's knowing that, yes there's massive pressure, but if you have enough belief you will do well."
At times, in print, Defoe's quotes look a bit like some of Mayweather's - assured, maybe even to the point of cockiness. But see him speak, as anyone who watches his interview on Sunday will, and a warm, engaging team man comes across.
An example of his willingness to sacrifice himself for his team came last season under Dick Advocaat. The two didn't always see eye to eye and the Dutchman didn't believe he was suited to the lone striker role.
Defoe had to do a job for the team as a left-sided midfielder, at times playing more like an extra left-back as Sunderland escaped relegation.
"I told him I'd scored a hat-trick playing for England against Bulgaria playing up front by myself," says the 33-year-old, who finished with 19 goals in 55 games for his country.
"But for some reason he thought I couldn't do it. I never really said anything, I just let my football do the talking."
This season, mainly under Sam Allardyce, faith in Defoe has been restored. The striker has managed 13 league goals in a struggling side, the last of them the vital second goal in a huge win at Norwich that kept Sunderland afloat.
The new manager, he says, deserves credit. For his own turnaround and for the team's.
"He's brilliant. A good guy and really funny. He knows how to do it. A manager can only do so much but he gives you the platform to go and win games. Hopefully we can stay up and then next season will be a good season."
To escape, Sunderland will almost certainly need Defoe's goals. And that's exactly the way he wants it.
Watch Sunderland v Arsenal live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 1pm on Sunday.
